Cynthia Nixon Talked About Her Mom’s Illegal Abortion

July 11, 2018 5:27 PM

One way of emphasizing the terrifying struggle women are facing is to hold a wire coat hanger, a visceral symbol of what can happen when women aren’t able to get legal abortions. This was what Cynthia Nixon, gubernatorial candidate for New York, did during a pro-choice rally in Union Square.

The day after President Trump announced his nominee for the Supreme Court, Nixon took a stand and shared the story of her mother’s own illegal abortion while holding a hanger in her hand. On Monday evening, Trump announced he would be nominating Brett Kavanaugh to fill the seat left open by Justice Kennedy, a judge who was often the swing vote on issues like abortion. With Kavanaugh’s nomination, women are now facing a future where Roe v. Wade is in danger. The judge once tried to stop an undocumented teenager being held in government custody from receiving an abortion.

Broadly reported that Nixon first told her mother’s story to the public in 2009 on CNN, when she spoke out against a proposed amendment that would have halted federal spending on abortion services.

“My mother had an illegal abortion pre-1973, and it’s something that I would never want to face or want my daughter to be facing or any of her friends,” Nixon said. “Abortion is a right I feel must not go away, and I feel like people aren’t mobilizing so much because it’s so complicated and it’s difficult to understand.”

Cynthia Nixon’s campaign challenging Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo is full-speed ahead, with the former Sex and the City actress coming out in support of overhauling NYC’s public transportation and for marijuana legalization. She and Julia Salazar, a 27-year-old Democratic Socialists of America member running for Congress in Brooklyn, also recently endorsed each other.

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